Hobbit premiere provides $11.7m boost

The world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey injected $11.7 million into the Wellington economy, according to a new economic impact report.

The capital rolled out the red carpet for the screening of the first film in Sir Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy in late November.

The Wellington City Council estimates 60,000 people turned out for the red carpet event on the day of the world premiere and the Hobbit-inspired artisan market attracted the same number of visitors over five days.

A report commissioned by the council has found that a third of people at the events were visitors to Wellington, either from another part of New Zealand or overseas.

Visitors in Wellington for the The Hobbit world premiere contributed $9.7m to the local economy, while a further $2m was spent by other visitors to the city.

The council spent $1.1m on world premiere events, including the Hobbit market, public film screenings, the red carpet event and Hobbit-related installations across the city.